Maryann Corozzo '26
Have you ever thought about living on an island all alone? Well, Torika Christian sure has. Torika is only 21 years old living in the smallest community in the world. She describes the island as a unique and quiet place. Torkia always has something to do, whether it’s raining or the sun is beaming.
She states, “If I wake up in the morning and the weather is good I can go fishing. If it is raining, I can go gardening or just stay home. Work life here is very flexible.”
The small island in the world is called Pitcairn. The island's locals struggle to recruit new settlers to come and live there. Jacqui Christian, also living on the island, said that she and the small community have been trying to boost the population on the island.
However, the small community does not have many jobs to offer. Jacqui states, "Islanders used to sell stamps to raise funds but, of course, stamp collecting is not as popular as it once was.”
The islanders do not have direct access to the outside world. People and cargo were ferried to and from ships offshore. This island, settled by the HMS Bounty Mutineers, is now the UK’s only overseas territory in the region.
Torika Christian pointed out that you have to be a person who is comfortable with isolation if you plan on moving to Pitcairn. Torika helps run her family business selling handmade wood carvings and miniature ships online. She also works part-time for the government and off-loading cargo ships.
Torkia and her neighbors take a supply ship that runs between Pitcairn and the Gambier islands every week. The ship takes tourists and locals arriving on Thursday and departing on Sunday. The ship can take up to 5 weeks to arrive because the same ship sails to New Zealand.
The Pitcairn locals can get supplies and frozen food on the island at a small general store. Also, locals and visitors can fish for their dinner. There are a few other local facilities for the locals including a tourism office, a library, a gym, a medical center with a dental room, a small ward, and an X-ray machine. The locals have everything they need on the small island. There was once a school on the island for the two children who lived there, but now the children get educated overseas.
The island is desperate for more people to make a larger community. However, Torika states, “But we need willing, community-friendly people. Not people who want to come here and isolate themselves from the community and be alone.”
The community needs people who will contribute to the island. For example, Torika said that Pitcairn people are “very hospitable” and willing to lend a helping hand wherever they can. On the island you are everything: the plumber, the electrician, the mechanic, the builder, and more.
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